sony ericsson w580i

I love my Nokia N810, but after 10 months of hoping in vain for ubiquitous wifi in the places I frequent, I finally put convenience ahead of cost and upgraded to a smartphone with a data plan: the HTC Tilt 2 from AT&T. I’ve only had it for a couple of days, and I’m still getting used to it, but here are a few of my first impressions.

The Tilt 2 is also available from T-Mobile and Verizon as the Touch Pro 2.

Things I liked

The keyboard: This is one of the main reasons I didn’t get an iPhone. Even the best onscreen keyboards fail to measure up to hardware buttons and tactile feedback. The Tilt 2 has a fantastic keyboard. The buttons are just the right size for my thumbs, and are nicely spaced. Frequently used characters like “/”, “@”, and “:” are intuitively placed, and there are shortcut keys for things like email, calendar, texting, and wifi. I thought I liked the keyboard on my N810, but this one is even better.

1. Click on the “File” menu and choose “Options.” A popup menu will open.

2. Choose Sync from the list on the left of the popup menu.

You should now see the word Sync in bold to the right of the list. Under Sync, you should see “Contacts” and “Calendar.”
3. Choose “Google” from the drop-down menu under “Calendar,” and click the “Advanced” button to the right of the menu.

Last summer, I got a new Sony Ericsson w580i “Walkman” phone, and immediately started looking for a way to sync it with my Google Calendar. I had previously been using GooSync (reviewed here) to sync my Windows Mobile PDA with GCal through a USB connection to my desktop computer. GooSync works with the w580i, but syncing with a USB cable doesn’t seem to be an option, and I don’t want to pay for data usage.

After a few Google searches, I found a utility called MyPhoneExplorer. In addition to GCal synchronization, MyPhoneExplorer allows you to edit and backup your phone numbers, calendar and task entries, and transfer files between the phone and your computer.

MyPhoneExplorer is donation-ware, meaning that it is free to use and download, but the developers hope you will appreciate their hard work and send them some money through PayPal.